ProtectMarriage's petition rejected

WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a request from supporters of Proposition 8 to stop same-sex marriages in California, an attorney said Sunday.

Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., one of the lawyers who challenged Proposition 8, told the Los Angeles Times he heard from the Supreme Court early Sunday that Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who oversees California and the rest of the states in the Ninth U.S. Circuit, had denied ProtectMarriage's request.

ProtectMarriage's petition came after the U.S. 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an order late Friday that allowed gay marriages to resume in California. The appeals court had affirmed a judge's order blocking implementation of the law, but had placed a stay on the order until the Supreme Court acted.

The 9th Circuit appeals court dissolved the stay two days after the Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the judge's order, saying the challengers had failed to show injury and therefore did not have standing.

The 9th Circuit normally waits 25 days before acting on a case just decided by the Supreme Court, the Times reported, and ProtectMarriage said the lower court's decision was premature and in violation of procedural rules.

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